On Thursday, George Zimmerman filed suit against NBC News and three NBC producers he accuses of intentionally painting him as a racist. Zimmerman and his attorneys have now done what many in the new media only dream of doing, holding the major media responsible for their biased and misleading output.

The language in the complaint is blunt. It calls NBC's coverage "yellow journalism" and refers to "journalistic crimes." Most broadly, the complaint accuses NBC of trumping up a racism narrative for ratings, with a name check of the Today Show and Rev. Al Sharpton in particular. Here are some of the highlights or, if you prefer, the media's lowlights from the complaint:

1] NBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain. Their goal was simple: keep their viewers alarmed, and thus always watching, by menacing them with a reprehensible series of imaginary and exaggerated racist claims.

2] NBC created this false and defamatory mis-impression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman's own words, splicing together disparate parts of the recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made.

3] Defendants pounced on the Zimmerman/Martin matter because they knew this tragedy could be, with proper sensationalizing and manipulation, a racial poweder keg that could result in months, if not years, of topics for their failing news programs, particularly the plummeting ratings for their ailing Today Show.

When NBC gets it thru it's head that it is a “NEWS” organization, not an opinion station, they will do o.k. It should be illegal to call it a “NEWS” entity if they try to color the article with their personal opinion.

Usually the civil trial takes place after the criminal trial, but in this case they are running concurrently.

The longer the criminal trial goes, the higher will be the demands against NBC and they know it.

Meanwhile the longer the trial goes the more discovery takes place under the subpoena power of the state that can be sifted into the civil action.

It’s a win win for Zimmerman’s side and a lose lose for the state and NBC.

The state thought that it could stall and drag this thing out and bankrupt GZ into a plea deal, but with that big NBC bank waiting at the end of the rainbow that they will eventually tap into, what’s to lose???

Especially when the best parts are coming up — the depositions of Crump, Tracey, Sybrina, DeeDee — that will give them more discovery to use against NBC.

What NBC will do is offer a ton on money, ON CONDITION
that the amount be kept confidential; AND that
Zimmerman not badmouth NBC or talk about his
treatment by NBC thereafter.

IOW, a huge settlement (a bribe) to keep quiet.

OTHERWISE, NBC will use its battalion of lawyers (and its friends on the bench and throughout the government) to see that
his suit takes years and years and years to get through the courts, and gets whittled down to next to nothing;

so that his grandchildren MIGHT collect a little out of the case.

(For informative comparisons, examine what has happened to the suits filed by the Duke lacrosse players).

I hope that the "settlement" is enough to make NBC's stockholders cry.

Zimmerman's life as he knows it is over. WHEN he's acquitted, he's going to be looking over his shoulder every moment for the rest of his life, lest some "aggreived minority" decides to exact "justice".

How much would you put in $ terms for that kind of paranoia?

You couldn't pay me enough.

And for GZ,the "enough" better be so much that he can afford protection for the rest of his life.

He now has deep pockets. Look up the Beasly Law firm of Pa. They will not settle. They are specifically asking for a jury. This firm has clout and this is just the beginning. Lots more actors after this. His life is in ruins and he has nothing else to do. May as well make a career out of it.

2] NBC created this false and defamatory mis-impression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman's own words, splicing together disparate parts of the recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made.

Thats great the Beasley firm has deep pockets. But will Zimmerman wait it out? Ive read he and his wife have money problems.
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The firm will bankroll a nice existance for him while this plays out... Bank on it.

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